Component mounting method

ABSTRACT

A component mounting method in which a component can be mounted with high mounting accuracy even onto a board that is long in a transportation direction in a component mounter, includes: calculating a first amount of correction for a component mounting position by recognizing positions of board marks in the first mounting area; mounting the component at the component mounting position which is being corrected based on the amount of correction calculated in the calculating a first amount of correction; calculating a second amount of correction for a component mounting position by recognizing positions of board marks in the second mounting area; and mounting the component at the component mounting position which is being corrected based on the amount of correction calculated in the calculating a second amount of correction.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a component mounting method for use ina component mounter which mounts a component onto a board, and inparticular to a component mounting method for use in a component mounterwhich mounts a component onto a board that is long in a transportationdirection.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, circuit boards have been designed to be smaller withhigher density and there is a tendency that such circuit boards areproduced in a small volume for each of different types thereof.Accordingly, in order to mount components onto a small board and toquickly switch components from one type to another, there has been ahigher demand for a component mounter with a large number of componentmounting stages that are designed each in a compact manner and coupledtogether. The use of such a component mounter for performing componentmounting allows an increase in the number of components mounted per unitarea (improvement of area production efficiency).

In the case of mounting components by using a component mounter withmultiple component mounting stages coupled together, a componentmountable range covered by one mounting head is limited. Onto a boardwhich is long in a transportation direction, mounting all components atone transportation and positioning time is impossible. Hence, inconventional component mounters, components are mounted on such long aboard by moving the board at multiple stages in the transportationdirection (see Patent Reference 1, for example). Patent Reference 1:Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-287150

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems that Invention is to Solve

However, the conventional component mounters are not capable of imagingboard marks placed on diagonal corners of a board which is long in thetransportation direction, to perform correction on positions ofcomponents to be mounted. There accordingly remains a problem that adegree of component-mounting accuracy is low.

The present invention has been conceived in order to solve theabove-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is toprovide a method for component mounting in which components can bemounted with high mounting accuracy even onto a board that is long inthe transportation direction in a component mounter.

Means to Solve the Problems

In order to achieve the above object, a component mounting methodaccording to an aspect of the present invention is a component mountingmethod for use in a component mounter which mounts a component onto aboard,

the board having a first mounting area and a second mounting area whichare different from each other and each correspond to a componentmountable range of a mounting head of the component mounter,

wherein the first mounting area has a pair of separate board marks eachpositioned near either end of the first mounting area, and

the second mounting area has a pair of separate board marks eachpositioned near either end of the second mounting area,

the method including:

calculating a first amount of correction by (i) recognizing positions ofthe board marks in the first mounting area, (ii) calculating an amountof displacement of the recognized positions from predetermined positionsof the board marks, and (iii) calculating, based on the amount ofdisplacement, the amount of correction for a component mountingposition;

mounting the component at the component mounting position in the firstmounting area, the component mounting position being corrected based onthe amount of correction calculated in the calculating a first amount ofcorrection;

calculating a second amount of correction after the mounting thecomponent in the first mounting area, by (i) recognizing positions ofthe board marks in the second mounting area, (ii) calculating an amountof displacement of the recognized positions from predetermined positionsof the board marks, and (iii) calculating, based on the amount ofdisplacement, the amount of correction for a component mountingposition; and

mounting the component at the component mounting position in the secondmounting area, the component mounting position being corrected based onthe amount of correction calculated in the calculating a second amountof correction.

Both the first and second mounting areas have the board marks. The boardmarks are recognized prior to mounting the components into the firstmounting area, and also the board marks are recognized prior to mountingthe components into the second mounting area. This allows for correctionof positions of both components which are to be mounted in the firstmounting area and in the second mounting area so that the components canbe mounted with high positional accuracy. Thus, as for a board which islong in the transportation direction, the components can be mountedthereon with high mounting accuracy by setting the first and secondmounting areas along the transportation direction.

A component mounting method according to another aspect of the presentinvention is a component mounting method for use in a component mounterwhich mounts a component onto a board,

the board having a first mounting area and a second mounting area whichare different from each other and each correspond to a componentmountable range of a mounting head of the component mounter,

wherein the first mounting area has a pair of separate board marks eachpositioned near either end of the first mounting area, and the secondmounting area has a pair of separate board marks each positioned neareither end of the second mounting area,

the mounting condition determining method including:

determining a first mounting condition according to which the componentmounter (i) recognizes positions of the board marks in the firstmounting area, (ii) calculates an amount of displacement of therecognized positions from predetermined positions of the board marks,and (iii) calculates, based on the amount of displacement, an amount ofcorrection for a component mounting position;

determining a second mounting condition according to which the componentmounter mounts the component at the component mounting position in thefirst mounting area, the component mounting position being correctedbased on the amount of correction calculated in the determining a firstmounting condition;

determining a third mounting condition according to which, after themounting the component in the first mounting area, the component mounter(i) recognizes positions of the board marks in the second mounting area,(ii) calculates an amount of displacement of the recognized positionsfrom predetermined positions of the board marks, and (iii) calculates,based on the amount of displacement, an amount of correction for acomponent mounting position; and

determining a fourth mounting condition according to which the componentmounter mounts the component at the component mounting position in thesecond mounting area, the component mounting position being correctedbased on the amount of correction calculated in the determining a thirdmounting condition.

Preferably, the mounting condition determining method further includes

composing a turn of only a pickup operation in which every pickup nozzleof the mounting head holds the component, when the component mountermounts the component in at least one of the first mounting area and thesecond mounting area, wherein the turn indicates one set of repeatingoperations of the mounting head, the repeating operations each includingpickup, move, and mounting operations.

The turns are configured such that in at least one of the first mountingarea and the second mounting area, components are mounted by a line gangpickup head having its all pickup nozzles with the components. Thisallows for determining the order of mounting components such as tominimize the sum of the number of turns necessary for mounting thecomponents in the first mounting area and the number of turns necessaryfor mounting the components in the second mounting area.

A method for producing a board according to another aspect of thepresent invention is a board manufacturing method including:

determining a first mounting area and a second mounting area on a board,which are different from each other and each correspond to a componentmountable range of a mounting head of a component mounter;

providing a pair of separate board marks near either end of the firstmounting area; and

providing a pair of separate board marks near either end of the secondmounting area.

Both the first and second mounting areas have the board marks which areused for calculating an amount of correction for a component mountingposition in each of the mounting areas. It is therefore possible toobtain the amount of correction for the component mounting position byrecognizing the positions of the board marks, when the components arebeing mounted in each of the mounting areas. Consequently, by settingthe first mounting area and the second mounting area along thetransportation direction, the components can be mounted with highaccuracy on even a board which is long in the transportation directionin the component mounter.

Preferably, in the providing board marks in the first mounting area, twoboard marks are provided on a diagonal of the first mounting area, and

in the providing board marks in the second mounting area, two boardmarks are provided on a diagonal of the second mounting area.

Positioning the two board marks on the diagonal enables that the twoboard marks can be positioned away from each other both vertically andhorizontally in each of the mounting areas. As a result, it is possibleto obtain a precise amount of correction for the component mountingposition, so that the component can be mounted with high mountingaccuracy.

It is to be noted that the invention may be implemented not only as thecomponent mounting method including such characteristic steps but alsoas, for example, a mounting condition determining method and a computerprogram causing a computer to execute the characteristic steps includedin the mounting condition determining method.

Moreover, the invention may be implemented not only as a boardmanufacturing method including such characteristic steps and also as,for example, a board manufactured by such a board manufacturing methodand a computer program for determining positions of board marks. Inaddition, it goes without saying that such program may be distributedvia a recording medium such as a Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM)and a communication network such as the Internet.

Effects of the Invention

It is possible to provide a method for component mounting in whichcomponents can be mounted with high mounting accuracy even onto a boardwhich is long in a transportation direction in a component mounter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an outer view of a board production system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an outer view showing a configuration of a component mounteraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the component mounter showing a major innerconfiguration thereof.

FIG. 4 is another plan view of the component mounter showing a majorinner configuration thereof.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating component mounting performed by thecomponent mounter.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating component mounting performed by thecomponent mounter.

FIG. 7 is a view showing one example of a board which is long in atransportation direction.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the first mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the second mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a view showing another example of a board which is long in atransportation direction.

FIG. 11 is a view showing the first mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a view showing the second mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a view showing another example of a board which is long in atransportation direction.

FIG. 14 is a view showing the first mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a view showing the second mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a view showing another example of a board which is long in atransportation direction.

FIG. 17 is a view showing the first mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a view showing the second mounting area of the board shown inFIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is an outer view of a marking head for applying red ink onto aboard placed in an adhesive dispenser.

FIG. 20 is a view for illustrating red ink marking.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of acontrol device.

FIG. 22 is a view showing one example of mounting point data.

FIG. 23 is a view showing one example of component library.

FIG. 24 is a view showing one example of mounting apparatus information.

FIG. 25 is a view showing one example of component mountable rangeinformation.

FIG. 26 is a view showing a component mountable range of a line gangpickup head.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a component mounting process performed by acomponent mounter in accordance with a component mounting conditiondetermined by a component mounting condition determining unit in thecontrol device.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a process for determining an order of mountingcomponents in each of the first and second mounting areas.

FIG. 29 is a view showing the number of components to be mounted in eachof the mounting areas of the board.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a process of determining positions of boardmarks to be applied by the adhesive dispenser.

FIG. 31 is a view for illustrating the first variation of board stoppositions.

FIG. 32 is a view for illustrating the first variation of board stoppositions.

FIG. 33 is a view for illustrating the second variation of board stoppositions.

FIG. 34 is a view for illustrating the second variation of board stoppositions.

FIG. 35 is a view showing one type example of a pickup nozzle providedin the line gang pickup head.

FIG. 36 is a view showing component mountable ranges of S type and Mtype pickup nozzles.

NUMERICAL REFERENCES

-   10 Production system-   14, 30 Stocker-   16 solder printer-   18, 26 Conveyer-   20 Board-   20 a to 20 m Board marks-   21 Adhesive dispenser-   22, 24 Component mounter-   25 Area-   25 a, 25 b Individual marks-   28 Reflow furnace-   120 a Front sub-equipment-   120 b Rear sub-equipment-   121 Line gang pickup head-   122 Beam-   123 Component cassette-   124 First stopper-   125 a, 125 b Component supply units-   126 Component recognizing camera-   127 Second stopper-   128 Tray supply unit-   129 Rail-   129 a Fixed rail-   129 b Movable rail-   200 Mounting line-   300 Control device-   301 Arithmetic control unit-   302 Display unit-   303 Input unit-   304 Memory unit-   305 Program storing unit-   305 a Component mounting condition determining unit-   305 b Board mark position determining unit-   306 Communication I/F unit-   307 Database unit-   307 a Mounting point data-   307 b Component library-   307 c Mounting apparatus information-   307 b Component mountable range information-   408,410 Component mountable range

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a production system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention shall be explained with reference to drawings.

FIG. 1 is an outer view of a board production system according to anembodiment of the present invention. A production system 10 is a systemfor producing a component mounted board, which is formed by mountingcomponents onto a board, and provided with a mounting line 200 and acontrol device 300.

The mounting line 200 is a system for transporting a board from anupstream production machine toward a downstream production machine toproduce the board with components mounted thereon, and provided withstockers 14, 30, a solder printer 16, conveyors 18, 26, an adhesivedispenser 21, component mounters 22, 24, and a reflow furnace 28.

The stockers 14, 30 are each a device for stocking boards, and thestocker 14 is positioned upstream in the production line while thestocker 30 is positioned downstream in the production line. This meansthat the stocker 14 stocks boards with no components mounted thereonwhile the stocker 30 stocks finished boards with components mountedthereon.

The solder printer 16 is a device for printing solder onto a board.

The conveyors 18, 26 are each a device for transporting a board.

The adhesive dispenser 21 is a device for applying adhesive onto onlyrequired part for provisionally bonding electronic components onto aboard 20 so that relatively large electronic components will not go offthe board 20 when being transported. For example, the adhesive dispenser21 moves a tank and a board toward each other so that viscous adhesivepushed out of the tank is applied in a linear or dotted pattern to theboard. It is to be noted that in the adhesive dispenser 21, a markinghead for applying red ink in the shape of a later-described board markis further provided on the board 20.

The component mounters 22, 24 are each a device for mounting componentsonto a board.

The reflow furnace 28 is a device for heating the board with componentmounted thereon to melt solder or the like so that the components willbe then fixed onto the board.

The control device 300 is a computer for controlling respectiveproduction machines constituting the mounting line 200. A configurationof the control device 300 shall be explained hereinafter.

FIG. 2 is an outer view showing a configuration of a component mounteraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The component mounter 22 is an apparatus for mounting electroniccomponents while transferring the circuit board from the upstream to thedownstream, and includes two sub-equipment (a front sub-equipment 120 aand a rear sub-equipment 120 b) for performing component mounting in theform of cooperated alternate operation. A configuration of the componentmounter 24 is the same as that of the component mounter 22. Thus, thedetailed description thereof is not repeated here.

The front sub-equipment 120 a includes: a component supply unit 125 awhich includes an array of component cassettes 123 each storing acomponent tape; a line gang pickup head 121 having a plurality of pickupnozzles (hereinafter simply referred to as “nozzles” in some cases)capable of picking up electronic components from the component cassettes123 and mounting them onto the board 20; a beam 122 to which the linegang pickup head 121 is attached; and a component recognizing camera 126for inspecting in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner thepickup state of components picked up by the line gang pickup head 121.

The line gang pickup head 121 is equipped with a camera for recognizinga position of the board mark which is to be described hereinafter.

The rear sub-equipment 120 b also has a configuration similar to that ofthe front sub-equipment 120 a. Here, the rear sub-equipment 120 b has atray supply unit 128 which supplies tray components. However, the traysupply unit 128 or the like may not be provided in some cases dependingon the sub-equipment.

Here, the “component tape” indicates a tape (carrier tape) on which aplurality of components of the same component type are arranged. Thistape is supplied in form that it is wound around a reel (supply reel) orthe like, and is mainly used for supplying, to a component mounter,components which are in a relatively small size and are referred to aschip components.

Specifically, the component mounter 120 is a mounting apparatus that hasthe function of a component mounter referred to as a high-speed mounterand the function of a component mounter referred to as a multifunctionalmounter. The high-speed mounter is an apparatus that generally ischaracterized by high productivity and mounts electric components of 10mm square or smaller at a speed of the order of 0.1 second each. Themultifunctional mounter is an apparatus that mounts large-sizeelectronic components of 10 mm square or larger, irregularly shapedcomponents such as switches and connectors, and Integrated Circuit (IC)components such as a Quad Flat Package (QFP) and a Ball Grid Array(BGA).

In other words, the component mounter 22 is designed to be capable ofmounting almost all types of electronic components (the range ofcomponents to be mounted extends from a 0.4-mm×0.2-mm chip resistor to a200-mm connector). Thus, by simply arranging a necessary number of thecomponent mounters 22, a mounting line can be constructed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the component mounter 22 showing a major innerconfiguration thereof.

In the component mounter 22, the respective front sub-equipment 120 aand the rear sub-equipment 120 b are provided in the forward andbackward directions (y-axis direction) of the component mounter 22 whichare perpendicular to the transportation direction (x-axis direction) ofthe board 20.

The front sub-equipment 120 a and the rear sub-equipment 120 b cooperatewith each other so as to perform mounting work on one board 20.

The front sub-equipment 120 a and the rear sub-equipment 120 b areprovided with a component supply unit 125 a and a component supply unit125 b, respectively. Further, each of the front sub-equipment 120 a andthe rear sub-equipment 120 b is provided with a beam 122 and a line gangpickup head 121. Furthermore, in the component mounter 120, a pair ofrails 129 for transporting the board 20 is provided between the frontsub-equipment and the rear sub-equipment.

The rails 129 include a fixed rail 129 a and a movable rail is 129 b.The position of the fixed rail 129 a is fixed in advance, whereas themovable rail 129 b can be moved in the y-axis direction in accordancewith the length of the transported board 20 in the y-axis direction.

It is to be noted that the component recognizing camera 126, the traysupply unit 128 and the like are omitted in the figure, since they arenot essential parts of the present invention.

The beam 122 is a rigid body extending in the x-axis direction (thetransportation direction of the board 20), and can move on a railway notshown) provided in the y-axis direction (perpendicular to thetransportation direction of the board 20), while being parallel to thex-axis direction. Further, the beam 122 allows the line gang pickup head121 attached to the beam 122 to move along the beam 122, that is, tomove in the x-axis direction. Thus, by virtue of the movement of thebeam 122 in the y-axis direction and the x-axis directional movement ofthe line gang pickup head 121 that moves in the y-axis direction inassociation with the movement of the beam 122, the line gang pickup head121 can move freely in the XY plane. Further, a plurality of motors suchas motors (not shown) for driving these are provided in the beam 122.Electric power to these motors and the like is supplied via the beam122.

The component mounter 22 is provided further with a first stopper 124for fixing the board 20 which is transported in the transportationdirection. From right to left in the figure the board 20 is transportedin a direction indicated by an arrow 402. The first stopper 124 isprovided at such a position that a left part of the board 20 will beincluded in a movable range of the line gang pickup head 121. Componentscan therefore be mounted on the left part of the board 20 (a shadedportion of the board 20) by the line gang pickup head 121 when the board20 transported is fixed at the position of the first stopper 124. In thefollowing explanation, the left part of the board 20 (the shaded portionof the board 20) will be referred to as “first mounting area”. The firstmounting area corresponds to a component mountable range of the linegang pickup head 121.

FIG. 4 is another plan view of the component mounter 22 showing a majorinner configuration thereof.

The component mounter 22 is provided further with a second stopper 127for fixing the board 20 which is transported in the transportationdirection. The board 20 is transported in a direction indicated by anarrow 402 from right to left in the figure. The second stopper 127 isprovided at such a position that a right part of the board 20 isincluded in a movable range of the line gang pickup head 121. Componentscan therefore be mounted on the right part of the board 20 (a shadedportion of the board 20) by the line gang pickup head 121 when the board20 transported is fixed at the position of the second stopper 127. Inthe following explanation, the right part of the board 20 (the shadedportion of the board 20) will be referred to as “second mounting area”.The second mounting area corresponds to a component mountable range ofthe line gang pickup head 121.

By stopping the board 20 at the positions of the first stopper 124 andthe second stopper 127 as above, positioning of the board 20 isperformed so that the component mountable range of the line gang pickuphead is entirely covered by the board 20. This makes it possible tomaximize a distance between a pair of board marks within the componentmountable range of the line gang pickup head. Consequently, the accuracyfor correcting a component mounting position through recognition ofboard marks can be the highest in the component mounter 22.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams for illustrating component mounting performedby the component mounter 22. The component mounter 24 performs componentmounting likewise and thus, description thereof is not repeated.

As shown FIG. 5, the line gang pickup head 121 of the rear sub-equipment120 b mounts the components onto the board 20 by repeating three kindsof operations including “pickup” of the components from the componentsupply unit 125 b, “recognition” of the picked-up components using thecomponent recognizing camera 126, and “mounting” of the recognizedcomponents onto the board 20.

It is to be noted that the line gang pickup head 121 of the frontsub-equipment 120 a similarly mounts the components onto the board 20 byalternately repeating the three kinds of operations, that is, “pickup”,“recognition” and “mounting”.

When the two line gang pickup heads 121 simultaneously perform“mounting” of the components, the line gang pickup heads 121 mount thecomponents onto the board 20 in the form of coordinated operation inorder to avoid collision with each other. More specifically, as shown inFIG. 6( a), while the line gang pickup head 121 of the rearsub-equipment 120 b is performing the “mounting” operation, the linegang pickup head 121 of the front sub-equipment 120 a performs the“pickup” operation and the “recognition” operation. In contrast, asshown in FIG. 6( b), while the line gang pickup head 121 of the frontsub-equipment 120 a is performing the “mounting” operation, the linegang pickup head 121 of the rear sub-equipment 120 b performs the“pickup” operation and the “recognition” operation. As described, sincethe two line gang pickup heads 121 alternately perform the “mounting”operation, collision between the line gang pickup heads 121 can beavoided. Here, in an ideal case, if one of the line gang pickup heads121 completes the “pickup” operation and the “recognition” operationduring the time that the other line gang pickup head 121 performs the“mounting” operation, the one of the line gang pickup heads 121 canstart the “mounting” operation without delay at the time that other linegang pickup head 121 completes the “mounting” operation. This improvesproduction efficiency.

Hereinbelow, the situation of a board which is long in thetransportation direction is explained by referring to concrete examplesshown in FIGS. 7 to 18, and such a board which is long in thetransportation direction is characterized in that a pair of board marksspaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance are provided ineach of the first mounting area and the second mounting area.

FIG. 7 is a view showing one example of a board which is long in thetransportation direction.

A board 20 has a pair of board marks 20 a, 20 b for calculating anamount of correction such as an amount of displacement for the firstmounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 8) of the board 20 when theboard 20 is fixed at the position of the first stopper 124. The boardmarks 20 a, 20 b are provided on diagonally opposite ends of the firstmounting area.

Further, the board 20 has a pair of board marks 20 c, 20 d forcalculating an amount of correction such as an amount of displacementfor the second mounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 9) of the board20 when the board 20 is fixed at the position of the second stopper 127.The board marks 20 c, 20 d are provided on diagonally opposite ends (orin the vicinity of diagonally opposite ends) of the second mountingarea.

FIG. 10 is a view showing one example of a board which is long in thetransportation direction.

A board 20 has a pair of board marks 20 e, 20 f for calculating anamount of correction such as an amount of displacement for the firstmounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 11) of the board 20 when theboard 20 is fixed at the position of the first stopper 124.

Further, the board 20 has a pair of board marks 20 f, 20 g forcalculating an amount of correction such as an amount of displacementfor the second mounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 12) of the board20 when the board 20 is fixed at the position of the second stopper 127.It is to be noted that in this board 20, the board mark 20 f is used inboth the first mounting area and the second mounting area. As a result,a distance between the board marks is a little shorter but the number ofboard marks on the board 20 can be smaller than those in the case, shownin FIGS. 7 to 9, of the board marks which are provided on diagonallyopposite ends of each of the first mounting area and the second mountingarea.

FIG. 13 is a view showing one example of a board which is long in thetransportation direction.

A board 20 has a pair of board marks 20 h, 20 i for calculating anamount of correction such as an amount of displacement for the firstmounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 14) of the board 20 when theboard 20 is fixed at the position of the first stopper 124.

Further, the board 20 has a pair of board marks 20 j, 20 k forcalculating an amount of correction such as an amount of displacementfor the second mounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 15) of the board20 when the board 20 is fixed at the position of the second stopper 127.It is to be noted that as shown in this board 20, the pair of boardmarks 20 h, 20 i are not provided on a diagonal of the first mountingarea. Likewise, the pair of board marks 20 j and 20 k are not providedon a diagonal of the second mounting area either. It is to be noted thatalthough the pair of board marks on the diagonal are preferably used tocalculate an amount of correction such as an amount of displacement, theamount of correction can be calculated by using a pair of board markswhich are not provided on a diagonal.

FIG. 16 is a view showing one example of a board which is long in thetransportation direction.

A board 20 includes an area 25 where components are to be mounted. Theboard 20 further includes individual marks 25 a, 25 b for recognizing aposition of the area 25 when the components are being mounted in thearea 25. Furthermore, board marks 20 l, 20 m are provided on a bottomleft corner and a top right corner, respectively, of the board 20.

When the board 20 is fixed at the position of the first stopper 124, theboard mark 20 l and the individual mark 25 a are used to calculate anamount of correction such as an amount of displacement for the firstmounting area (a shaded portion in FIG. 17) of the board 20. When theboard 20 is fixed at the position of the second stopper 127, the boardmark 20 m and the individual mark 25 b are used to calculate an amountof correction such as an amount of displacement for the second mountingarea (a shaded portion in FIG. 18) of the board 20. By using theindividual marks as above in positioning each of the mounting areas,each of the mounting areas can be positioned without increasing thenumber of board marks on the board 20. To calculate an amount ofcorrection for the first mounting area, the board mark 20 l and theindividual mark 25 b may be used instead of the board mark 20 l and theindividual mark 25 a. Likewise, to calculate an amount of correction forthe second mounting area, the board mark 20 m and the individual mark 25a may be used instead of the board mark 20 m and the individual mark 25b. It is to be noted that out of a plurality of the individual marks,desirable substitute marks for board marks are those such that when theindividual marks are substituted for the board marks, a distance betweena pair of the board marks would be the longest. This allows improvementin the accuracy for correcting a component mounting position throughrecognition of the board marks and the individual marks. The individualmarks may be replaced by lands, to which solder paste is applied inelectronic components, or any other alternates, including wiringpatterns and through holes, which can be photographed and located by acamera and thus substituted for the board marks. It is to be noted thatcriteria for selecting substitutes for the board marks among the abovealternates are about the same as in the case of the individual marks.The substitutes for the board marks, such as the individual marks,lands, or wiring patterns, are mere examples of the board marksencompassed by appended claims.

FIG. 19 is an outer view of a marking head for applying red ink onto aboard placed in an adhesive dispenser 21.

The marking head includes a tank 21 b for holding red ink and an outletportion 21 a for delivering the ink onto the board 20.

FIG. 20 is a view for illustrating red ink marking. The red ink 21 ccontained in the tank 21 b is injected into the outlet portion 21 a andpushed out from a top of the outlet portion 21 a by air 21 d. The inkpushed out is then applied onto the board 20.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of acontrol device 300.

This control device 300 is a computer for configuring settings such asestablishing a component mounting condition for the component mounters22, 24 or determining positions of the board marks to be applied by theadhesive dispenser 21, and the computer includes an arithmetic controlunit 301, a display unit 302, an input unit 303, a memory unit 304, aprogram storing unit 305, a communication interface (I/F) unit 306, anda database unit 307.

The control device 300 is implemented by a general-purpose computersystem such as a personal computer by executing a program according tothe present invention. When the adhesive dispenser 21, the componentmounters 22, 24 and the like are not connected, the control device 300also serves as a stand-alone simulator (a tool for determining acomponent mounting condition). It is to be noted that the function ofthe control device 300 may be installed in the adhesive dispenser 21,the component mounters 22, 24, and the like. The control device 300corresponds to a mounting condition determining apparatus stated in theclaims of the present invention.

The arithmetic control unit 301 is a Central Processing Unit (CPU), anumerical processor and the like. In response to an instruction or thelike from the operator, the arithmetic control unit 301 loads anecessary program from the program storing unit 305 to the memory unit304, and executes it. Then, in accordance with the execution result, thearithmetic control unit 301 controls each of the display unit 302, theinput unit 303, the memory unit 304, and the program storing unit 305,and the communication I/F unit 306, and the database unit 307.

The display unit 302 is a Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD) or the like, while the input unit 303 is a keyboard, amouse and the like. These units are used for interactive operations orthe like between the control device 300 and the operator, under thecontrol of the arithmetic control unit 301.

The communication I/F unit 306 is a Local Area Network (LAN) adapter orthe like, and is used for communication and the like between the controldevice 300 and the adhesive dispenser 21 or the component mounters 22,24, for example. The memory unit 304 is a Random Access Memory (RAM) orthe like that provides a working area for the arithmetic control unit301.

The database unit 307 is a hard disk or the like that stores, forexample, input data (such as mounting point data 307 a, a componentlibrary 307 b, mounting apparatus information 307 c, and componentmountable range information 307 d) used for processing of determining acomponent mounting condition and processing of determining markingpositions of board marks, performed by the control device 300.

FIGS. 22 to 25 are diagrams respectively showing examples of themounting point data 307 a, the component library 307 b, the mountingapparatus information 307 c and the component mountable rangeinformation 307 d.

The mounting point data 307 a is a group of information that indicatesmounting points for all components to be mounted. As shown in FIG. 22,one mounting point pi includes a component type ci, an x-coordinate xi,a y-coordinate yi, a mounting angle θi, and control data φi. Here, the“component type” corresponds to the component name in the componentlibrary 307 b shown in FIG. 23. The “x-coordinate” and the“y-coordinate” are the coordinates of the mounting point (coordinatesthat indicate a particular position on the board). The “mounting angle”is a rotation angle of a component when being mounted onto the board.The “control data” is constraint information concerning the mounting ofthe component (such as the type of a usable pickup nozzle and themaximum moving speed of the line gang pickup head 121). It is to benoted that Numeric Control (NC) data to be eventually acquired is asequence of mounting points that minimizes a line tact.

The component library 307 b is a collection of information unique toeach type of components that can be processed by the component mounters22, 24 and the like. As shown in FIG. 23, the component library 307 bcontains for each component type: a component size; a tact (the taktunique to the component type under a particular condition); and otherconstraint information (such as the type of a usable pickup nozzle, therecognition method used by the component recognizing camera 126, and themaximum speed level of the line gang pickup head 121). Here, in thefigure, appearances of components of various types are also shown asreference.

The mounting apparatus information 307 c is information that indicatesthe apparatus configuration, the above-mentioned constraint, and thelike for all individual sub-equipment that make up is the productionline. As shown in FIG. 24, the mounting apparatus information 307 cincludes: head information concerning, for example, the type of the linegang pickup heads 121 or the number of pickup nozzles provided in theline gang pickup heads 121; nozzle information concerning, for example,the type of the pickup nozzles that can be attached to the line gangpickup heads 121; cassette information concerning, for example, themaximum number of component cassettes 123; and tray informationconcerning, for example, the number of trays held in the tray supplyunit 128.

The component mountable range information 307 d is information thatindicates a component mountable range of the line gang pickup head 121specified along x-axis and y-axis, as shown in FIG. 25, in the casewhere the board 20 is fixed at the positions of the first stopper 124and the second stopper 127. The x-coordinate and y-coordinate in thecomponent mountable range originate at an upper-left corner of the board20 as shown in FIG. 26. When a board A is fixed at the position of thefirst stopper 124, the component mountable range along the x-axis is 0mm or more and 330 mm or less, and when the board A is fixed at theposition of the second stopper 127, the component mountable range alongthe x-axis is 230 mm or more and 560 mm or less. And the componentmountable range along the y-axis in these cases is 0 mm or more and 300mm or less.

The program storing unit 305 shown in FIG. 21 is a hard disk and thelike for storing various programs for implementing the function of thecontrol device 300. The programs determine, for example, a componentmounting condition for the component mounters 22, 24 and the positionsof the board marks to be applied by the adhesive dispenser 21, andinclude a component mounting condition determining unit 305 a, a boardmark position determining unit 305 b, and the like in terms of thefunction (as a processing unit that performs the function when executedby the arithmetic control unit 301).

The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determines acomponent mounting condition for the component mounters 22, 24.

The board mark position determining unit 305 b determines, for example,the positions of the board marks to be applied by the adhesive dispenser21 and the positions of the board marks to be recognized by thecomponent mounters 22, 24.

The component mounting condition determined by the component mountingcondition determining unit 305 a is mounting data (instruction data)which is used by the component mounters 22, 24 when they performlater-described operations as shown in FIG. 27. To be specific, thecomponent mounting condition is presented in form of the mounting data(instruction data), according to which the component mounters 22 and 24perform operations of transporting and positioning the board twice and,in each of the first and second mounting areas, recognizing board marks,correcting component mounting positions, and mounting components thereonso that the components can be mounted in the respective mounting areas.

To be more specific, the above mounting data is composed of board markposition data determined by the board mark position determining unit 305b and mounting order data determined by the component mounting conditiondetermining unit 305 a, in addition to the mounting point data 307 a,the component library 307 b, the mounting apparatus information 307 c,and the component mountable range information 307 d, which are stored inthe database unit 307. The component mounters 22, 24 move the cameras topositions designated in the board mark position data in the abovemounting data, thereby recognizing the board marks to correct thex-coordinate xi, the y-coordinate yi, and the mounting angle θi in themounting point data 307 a. Furthermore, the component mounters 22 and 24mount the components in the order designated in the mounting order data,at coordinate positions designated in the mounting point data 307 a.

The following shall describe a method for mounting components using thecomponent mounters 22 and 24 in accordance with a component mountingcondition determined by the component mounting condition determiningunit 305 a. To be more specific, the component mounting conditiondetermining unit 305 a determines a component mounting condition suchthat the component mounters 22, 24 operate in the following manner.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a component mounting process performed by thecomponent mounter 22 in accordance with a component mounting conditiondetermined by the component mounting condition determining unit 305 a ofthe control device 300. The component mounter 24 operates in the samemanner.

The component mounter 22 raises the first stopper 124 so that the board20 is transported to the first stopper 124 (S2). The board 20 is thenfixed at the position of the first stopper 124 as shown in FIG. 3, andthe line gang pickup head 121 can move above the first mounting area.

The camera provided on the line gang pickup head 121 of either the frontsub-equipment 120 a or the rear sub-equipment 120 b captures images ofthe pair of board marks 20 a, 20 b and recognizes the images. The imagerecognition enables to determine positions of the board marks 20 a, 20b, and these positions are used to calculate an amount of correctionsuch as an amount of displacement of the board 20 in a planar direction,an amount of displacement in a rotation of the board 20, and an amountof expansion and contraction of the board 20 (S4). The amount ofcorrection thus calculated is utilized to correct the component mountingpositions, at which components are mounted by the line gang pickup heads121 of the front sub-equipment 120 a and the rear sub-equipment 120 b.It is to be noted that the positions of the board marks, which exist ona bottom left corner and a top right corner of the movable range, areset based on the component mountable range information 307 d, and tothese positions, the camera moves. The setting of the positions of theboard marks and the moving of the camera may be performed in either ofthe following manners (a) and (b).

The positions of the board marks are set in advance based on thecomponent mountable range information 307 d, and these set positions(coordinates) of the board marks are written in the mounting data. Thecamera moves to the positions of the board marks, which are designatedin the mounting data.

(b) Coordinates for the multiple board marks (such as the board marks,individual marks, and through holes) are written in the mounting data,and the component mountable range information 307 d is used to determinewhich positions of the board marks the camera is to move to. Regardingwhich positions of the board marks the camera is to move to, such boardmarks that have the longest distance between the pair of board marks arechosen. The camera moves to the positions of the determined board marks.

The front sub-equipment 120 a and the rear sub-equipment 120 b operatein cooperation with each other to mount components in the first mountingarea (S6). The cooperated operation is as described above with referenceto FIGS. 5 and 6. How to determine an order of mounting components inthe first mounting area shall be described hereinafter.

Next, the component mounter 22 lowers the first stopper 124 and raisesthe second stopper 127 so that the board 20 is transported to theposition of the second stopper 127 (S8). The board 20 is then fixed atthe position of the second stopper 127 as shown in FIG. 4, and the linegang pickup head 121 can move above the second mounting area.

The camera provided on the line gang pickup head 121 of either the frontsub-equipment 120 a or the rear sub-equipment 120 b captures images ofthe pair of board marks 20 c, 20 d and recognizes the images. With this,an amount of correction is calculated such as an amount of displacementof the board 20 in a planar direction, an amount of displacement in arotation of the board 20, and an amount of expansion and contraction ofthe board 20 (S10). The amount of correction thus calculated is utilizedto correct the component mounting positions, at which components aremounted by the line gang pickup heads 121 of the front sub-equipment 120a and the rear sub-equipment 120 b. It is to be noted that the positionsof the board marks, which exist on a bottom left corner and a top rightcorner of the movable range, are set based on the component mountablerange information 307 d, and the camera moves to these positions.

The front sub-equipment 120 a and the rear sub-equipment 120 b operatein cooperation with each other to mount components in the secondmounting area (S12). The cooperated operation is as described above withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6. How to determine an order of mountingcomponents in the second mounting area shall be described hereinafter.

The following shall describe how to determine the order of mountingcomponents in each of the first and second mounting areas.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a process for determining the order ofmounting components in each of the first and second mounting areas.

For example, in the case where the component mountable range of theboard 20 fixed at each position of the first stopper 124 and the secondstopper 127 is defined by the component mountable range information 307d shown FIG. 25, a part of the component mountable range which coversfrom 230 mm or more and 330 mm or less along the x-coordinate belongs toboth the first and second mounting areas. In other words, the firstmounting area and the second mounting area have an overlapping area.Accordingly, the components to be mounted in the overlapped area may bemounted either in mounting components in the first mounting area (S6shown in FIG. 27) or in mounting components in the second mounting area(S12 shown in FIG. 27).

The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determines suchan order of mounting components as to minimize a sum of the number ofturns necessary for mounting components in the first mounting area andthe number of turns necessary for mounting components in the secondmounting area. Here, “turn” refers to one set of “pickup”, “move” and“mounting” operations, which are repeated, of the line gang pickup head121.

The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determines theorder of mounting components such that when mounting the components inthe first mounting area, the line gang pickup head 121 always has itsall pickup nozzles with the components (S22).

Next, the component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determinesthe order of mounting components such that all the rest of thecomponents are mounted in the second mounting area (S24).

For example, assume that as shown in FIG. 29, the number of componentsto be mounted in the first mounting area of the board 20 is 100, and thenumber of components to be mounted in the second mounting area of theboard 20 is 100. The number of components to be mounted in a part of thefirst mounting area, which does not overlaps with any part of the secondmounting area, is 80, and the number of components to be mounted in apart of the second mounting area, which does not overlap with any partof the first mounting area, is 80. Further, the number of components tobe mounted in an overlapping area between the first mounting area andthe second mounting area is 20. Furthermore, the number of pickupnozzles of each of the line gang pickup heads 121 in the frontsub-equipment 120 a and in the rear sub-equipment 120 b is 8.

In this case, the number of components to be picked up by the line gangpickup head 121 has to be a multiple of 8 in order that the componentsare mounted in the first mounting area by the line gang pickup head 121whose pickup nozzles all hold the components. Accordingly, the componentmounting condition determining unit 305 a determines 12 as the number ofturns in the first mounting area, by dividing 100 by 8. As a result, 96(=8×12) components are mounted in the first mounting area. Thecomponents which are not mounted in the first mounting area, that is, 4(=100−96) components, are supposed to be mounted in the second mountingarea. These remaining 4 components therefore have to be present in theoverlapping area between the first mounting area and the second mountingarea.

The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determines anorder of mounting the 96 components. As to how to determine the order ofmounting components, various methods have been proposed conventionally.The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a thereforedetermines the order of mounting components in accordance with one ofthe various methods, which have been proposed conventionally.

The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determines alsoan order of mounting the components in the second mounting area so thatthe remaining 4 components are mounted in the area overlapping with thefirst mounting area and that 80 components are mounted in the area notoverlapping with the first mounting area.

In order to mount 84 (=80+4) components, 11 turns at minimum allowsmounting of the components since the number of the pickup nozzles is 8.The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a determines anorder of mounting the 84 components. As to how to determine the order ofmounting components, various methods have been proposed conventionally.The component mounting condition determining unit 305 a thereforedetermines the order of mounting components in accordance with one ofthe various methods, which have been proposed conventionally.

Consequently, the number of turns in the first mounting area is 12, andthe number of turns in the second mounting area is 11. The sum of bothturns can be minimized by setting that as described above the line gangpickup head 121 has its all pickup nozzles with components when mountingthe components in the first mounting area. It is to be noted that thenumber of turns in the first mounting area may be 11 and the number ofturns in the second mounting area may be 12 as long as the sum of bothturns is minimum.

The overlapping area between the first mounting area and the secondmounting area is determined based on the component mountable rangeinformation 307 d. In addition, an area to which each component to bemounted onto the board 20 belongs is determined based on the componentmountable range information 307 d and the mounting point data 307 a.

The following shall describe how to determine positions of board mark tobe applied by the adhesive dispenser 21.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a process of determining the positions of theboard marks to be applied by the adhesive dispenser 21.

The board mark position determining unit 305 b acquires the componentmountable range information 307 d stored in the database unit 307 (S32).

The board mark position determining unit 305 b determines the firstmounting area and the second mounting area based on the componentmountable range information 307 d (S34). For example, according to thecomponent mountable range information 307 d shown in FIG. 25, the firstmounting area is determined to extend from 0 mm or more and 330 mm orless along the x-axis in the coordinates on the board 20, and the secondmounting area is determined to extend from 230 mm or more and 560 mm orless along the x-axis in the coordinates on the board 20, as shown inFIG. 26. Of these areas, an area extending from 230 mm or more and 330mm or less along the x-axis in the coordinates on the board 20 belongsto both the first and second mounting areas.

The board mark position determining unit 305 b determines diagonalcorners of each of the first mounting area and the second mounting areaas positions of the board marks to be applied (S36). For example, it isdetermined that, as shown in FIG. 8, the respective positions of theboard marks to be applied are located inward by a predetermined distancefrom a bottom left corner position (i.e. a position having a minimumx-coordinate and a minimum y-coordinate) and a top right corner position(i.e. a position having a maximum x-coordinate and a maximumy-coordinate), of the first mounting area. Likewise, it is determinedthat, as shown in FIG. 9, the respective positions of the board marks tobe applied are located inward by a predetermined distance from a bottomleft corner position (i.e. a position having a minimum x-coordinate anda minimum y-coordinate) and a top right corner position (i.e. a positionhaving a maximum x-coordinate and a maximum y-coordinate), of the secondmounting area. It is to be noted that the positions of the board marksto be applied are determined so as not to overlap with positions atwhich components are to be mounted. The ranges of the first mountingarea and the second mounting area are obtained from the componentmountable range information 307 d.

The adhesive dispenser 21 lays red ink, which will serve as the boardmarks, at the determined positions on the board 20 before or afteradhesive coating. Information about the positions of the board marksthus applied is transmitted to the component mounters 22, 24. Thecomponent mounters 22, 24 receive this information and refer to thereceived information to perform a process of recognizing the appliedboard marks. It is to be noted that the board marks may be of ink of anycolor other than red.

As explained above, each of the first mounting area and the secondmounting area is provided with the board marks for positioning the boardaccording to the present embodiment. Such provision of the board marksin each of the mounting areas allows for obtaining an amount ofcorrection such as an amount of displacement of the board in both caseswhere the board is fixed at the position of the first stopper and wherethe board is fixed at the position of the second stopper. Consequently,the components can be mounted with high mounting accuracy even onto theboard which is long in the transportation direction in the componentmounter.

The component mounting condition is determined so that the componentsare mounted in the first mounting area always by the line gang pickuphead 121 having all its pickup nozzles with the components. This allowsfor determining the order of mounting components such as to minimize thesum of the number of turns necessary for mounting the components in thefirst mounting area and the number of turns necessary for mounting thecomponents in the second mounting area.

The adhesive dispenser is configured to lay the ink to provide the boardmarks. It is therefore possible to provide the board marks in each ofmounting areas on a board even in the case where the board has no boardmarks when transported from an upstream step.

It is therefore possible to obtain the amount of correction for each ofthe component mounting positions by recognizing the positions of theboard marks when the components are being mounted in each of themounting areas. Consequently, by setting the first mounting area and thesecond mounting area along the transportation direction, the componentscan be mounted with high accuracy even onto a board which is long in thetransportation direction in the component mounter.

Since the board marks are placed on the diagonal, it is possible toprecisely obtain an amount of correction such as an amount ofdisplacement of the board in the planar direction, an amount ofdisplacement in the rotation of the board, and an amount of expansionand contraction of the board; that is, it is possible to obtain aprecise amount of correction for the component mounting positions. As aresult, the components can be mounted with high mounting accuracy.

The production systems according to the embodiments of the presentinvention are so far described, and note that the present invention isnot limited to the above-described embodiments.

For example, the control device may exist in a different company fromwhere the adhesive dispenser and the component mounters are present.That is to say, there may be a company which determines the componentmounting condition and the positions of the board marks to be appliedand provides the service of providing the determined condition andpositions. In this case, the component mountable range information ofthe line gang pickup head registered in the database unit of the controldevice may be obtained from a mounting production manufacturer, whichproduces circuit boards by mounting components onto boards.Alternatively, the component mountable range information of the linegang pickup head registered in the database unit of the control devicemay be obtained from a manufacturer, which produces the componentmounter itself. In this case, a manufacturer of boards may have theadhesive dispenser and use it to provide board marks on boards beingmanufactured. In the manufacturer of boards, a pair of board marks maybe printed in each mounting area on a board on which a wiring patternsuch as a land is being printed. In this case, the board marks areprinted in the same process as that of board mark application by use ofthe adhesive dispenser shown in FIG. 30. In other words, a device forprinting wiring patterns prints the board marks, instead of applying theboard marks. In this case, the manufacturer of boards obtains thecomponent mountable range information of the line gang pickup head fromthe manufacturer, which produces the component mounter itself, or amounting production manufacturer.

In the case where the board marks are printed in the manufacturer ofboards, the control device 300 and the printing device correspond to theboard manufacturing apparatus in the embodiments of the presentinvention. In the case where the board marks are printed by the adhesivedispenser 21, the control device 300 and the adhesive dispenser 21correspond to the board manufacturing apparatus indicated by appendedclaims of the present invention.

The component mounter is not limited to the configuration that two linegang pickup heads operate in cooperation to mount components on a singleboard. For example, the component mounter may be configured to mountcomponents on a single board with use of a single line gang pickup head.

In the above embodiments, the single component mounter mounts thecomponents in the two mounting areas, i.e., the first and secondmounting areas. Instead, two component mounters may operate incooperation to mount the components in the two mounting areas. To bespecific, in the production system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the componentmounter 22 may perform the component mounting in the first mountingarea, and the component mounter 24 may perform the component mounting inthe second mounting area. Since the two component mounters operate incooperation to mount the components, the second stopper needs to beprovided only in one of the component mounters. The decrease in thenumber of the component mounters having the second stopper enables theproduction line to be shorter because the second stopper is positionedlaterally outside of the component mounter.

In the above embodiments, the component mounting condition is determinedsuch that when mounting the components in the first mounting area, allthe pickup nozzles hold the components. Instead, the component mountingcondition may be determined such that when mounting the components inthe second mounting area, all the pickup nozzles hold the components.

In the above embodiments, the board is stopped at the position of thefirst or second stopper disposed in the component mounter, but the stopposition of the board is not limited to such a position. The followingshall describe the other stop positions of the board with reference toFIG. 31 to 34. It is to be noted that the board 20 having the threeboard marks 20 e to 20 g as shown in FIG. 10 is taken here as an examplefor explanation, while the positions and the number of board marks arenot limited to such a board and for example, a board may be used whichhas board marks on both ends of each of the first and second mountingareas as shown in FIG. 7.

With reference to FIGS. 31 and 32, the first variation of the stopposition of the board is explained. Firstly, as shown in FIG. 31, theboard 20 is transported in a direction indicated by an arrow 402 andmade to stop at a position where a center position along the x-axis ofthe first mounting area (a shaded portion) of the board 20 coincideswith a center line 404 extending in the x-axis direction of thecomponent mounter 22. At this stop position, components are mounted inthe first mounting area. After completion of component mounting to thefirst mounting area, as shown in FIG. 32, the board 20 is transported inthe direction indicated by the arrow 402 and made to stop at a positionwhere a center position along the x-axis of the second mounting area (ashaded portion) of the board 20 coincides with the center line 404extending in the x-axis direction of the component mounter 22. At thisstop position, components are mounted in the second mounting area.Mounting the components onto the board 20 stopped at these positionsallows for a reduction in a sum of distances from the center line 404 tothe component mounting positions. Usually, a home position of the linegang pickup head 121 is set at a position on the center line 404. It istherefore possible to shorten a travel distance of the line gang pickuphead 121 and thus shorten a length of time for mounting.

With reference to FIGS. 33 and 34, the second variation of the stopposition of the board is explained. Firstly, as shown in FIG. 33, theboard 20 is transported in a direction indicated by an arrow 402 andmade to stop at a position where a left end of the first mounting area(a shaded portion) of the board 20 coincides with a left end of thecomponent mountable range of the component mounter 22. At this stopposition, components are mounted in the first mounting area. Aftercompletion of component mounting to the first mounting area, as shown inFIG. 34, the board 20 is transported in the direction indicated by thearrow 402 and made to stop at a position where an area (a blank area 406in FIG. 33) other than the first mounting area become all included inthe component mountable range of the component mounter 22. In otherwords, the board 20 is made to stop at a position where a right end ofthe second mounting area (a shaded portion) of the board 20 coincideswith a right end of the component mountable range of the componentmounter 22. At this stop position, components are mounted in the secondmounting area. Mounting the components onto the board 20 stopped atthese positions allows minimizing a distance for the board 20 to betransported from the stop position of the board for mounting thecomponents in the first mounting area to the stop position of the boardfor mounting the components in the second mounting area. That is, it ispossible to minimize a length of time for the board 20 to be transportedafter completion of component mounting to the first mounting area untilthe component mounting to the second mounting area starts. In themeantime, the board 20 on which the component mounting to the secondmounting area has completed is transported away when another board 20 onwhich components are to be mounted next is transported into thecomponent mounter 22, resulting in no need to take into account thelength of time for carrying away the board 20 on which the componentmounting to the second mounting area has completed. Accordingly, in asituation where the boards 20 flow into the component mounter 22 oneafter another, it is possible to minimize the time required fortransportation of the boards 20 by, as described above, minimizing thelength of time for each of the boards 20 to be transported aftercompletion of the component mounting to the first mounting area untilthe component mounting to the second mounting area starts.

It is to be noted that it is effective to utilize the first variation ina case where the time for the component mounting is relatively longerthan the time for the transportation of the boards 20, i.e., in a casewhere a relatively large number of components are to be mounted. Thesecond variation is effective in a case where the time for the componentmounting is relatively shorter than the time for the transportation ofthe boards 20, i.e., in a case where a relatively small number ofcomponents are to be mounted.

The component mountable range is determined based on a movable range ofthe line gang pickup head 121 in the above embodiments, but it may bedetermined based on a movable range for each type of the pickup nozzlesprovided in the line gang pickup head 121. In a case where types andpositions of the pickup nozzles in the line gang pickup head 121 arefixed in advance, there is an area where components of some types cannotbe mounted even if the area is included in the movable range of the linegang pickup head 121. For example, as shown in FIG. 35, the types of thepickup nozzles provided in the line gang pickup head 121 are “S”, “S”,“M”, and “M” and that these pickup nozzles are undetachably fixed to theline gang pickup head 121. In FIG. 36, a component mountable range 408of the pickup nozzle of S type in the line gang pickup head 121 and acomponent mountable range 410 of the pickup nozzle of M type in the linegang pickup head 121 are indicated by rectangular dashed lines. Shiftingthe component mountable range 408 by a predetermined distance leads tothe component mountable range 410. The predetermined distance is equalto a distance between the pickup nozzle of S type on a left end and thethird pickup nozzle of M type from the left in the line gang pickup head121. In the line gang pickup head 121, the pickup nozzles of S type arelocated on the left side while the pickup nozzles of M type are locatedon the right side. Accordingly, in a situation where the line gangpickup head 121 is moved to the left end of the component mounter 22,the pickup nozzles of S type can mount components onto further left partof the board than the pickup nozzles of M type can, and there is an areawhere the pickup nozzles of M type cannot mount components. Likewise, ina situation where the line gang pickup head 121 is moved to the rightend of the component mounter 22, the pickup nozzles of M type can mountcomponents onto further right part of the board than the pickup nozzlesof S type can, and there is an area where the pickup nozzles of S typecannot mount components. This is why the component mountable range isdetermined for each type of the pickup nozzles as stated above. Thus,for example, when only the pickup nozzles of S type are used to mountcomponents onto the board 20, the component mountable range of the linegang pickup head 121 is set to the component mountable range 408 of theS-type pickup nozzles, while, when only the pickup nozzles of M type areused to mount components onto the board 20, the component mountablerange of the line gang pickup head 121 is set to the component mountablerange 410 of the M-type pickup nozzles.

The above disclosed embodiments are to illustrate the present inventionand are not to be considered as limitations of the present invention.The scope of the present invention is represented by Claims and not bythe above provided description, and is intended to include equivalentmeaning of the Claims and all modifications within the scope.

Industrial Applicability

The present invention can be applied to a component mounter which mountsa component onto a board and in particular, to a component mounter whichmounts a component onto a board that is long in its transportationdirection by stopping the board at two stopper positions.

1. A component mounting method for use in a component mounter whichmounts a plurality of components onto a board, wherein the board has afirst mounting area and a second mounting area which are different fromeach other, the first mounting area and the second mounting arecorresponding to a component mountable range that is a range in which amounting head of the component mounter can mount the components withoutmoving the board, wherein the first mounting area and the secondmounting area are disposed along a transportation direction of the boardand have an overlapping area, wherein the first mounting area has a pairof separate board marks each positioned near either end of the firstmounting area, and wherein the second mounting area has a pair ofseparate board marks each positioned near either end of the secondmounting area, said component mounting method comprising: calculating afirst amount of correction by (i) recognizing positions of the boardmarks in the first mounting area, (ii) calculating an amount ofdisplacement of the recognized positions from predetermined positions ofthe board marks in the first mounting area, and (iii) calculating, basedon the amount of displacement, an amount of correction for mountingposition of a plurality of first components; mounting the firstcomponent at the mounting position of the first components in the firstmounting area, the mounting position of the first components beingcorrected based on the amount of correction calculated in saidcalculating a first amount of correction; calculating a second amount ofcorrection after said mounting the first components at the mountingpositions of the first components in the first mounting area, by (i)recognizing positions of the board marks in the second mounting area,(ii) calculating an amount of displacement of the recognized positionsfrom predetermined positions of the board marks in the second mountingarea, and (iii) calculating, based on the amount of displacement, anamount of correction for mounting positions of a plurality of secondcomponents; and mounting the second components at the mounting positionsin the second components in the second mounting area, the mountingpositions of the second components being corrected based on the amountof correction calculated in said calculating a second amount ofcorrection.
 2. The method for component mounting according to claim 1,further comprising moving the board to a position where the componentmounter can mount the second components at the mounting positions of thesecond components in the second mounting area, after said mounting thefirst components at the mounting positions of the first components inthe first mounting area.
 3. The method for component mounting accordingto claim 1, wherein said calculating a first amount of correctionincludes: obtaining a component mountable range of the mounting head forthe first components; determining positions of the board marks in thefirst mounting area based on the obtained component mountable range ofthe mounting head for the first components; recognizing the positions ofthe board marks by moving a camera to the determined positions of theboard marks; and calculating an amount of correction for the mountingpositions of the first components based on a result of said recognizing.